Evaluation of Olyvia Kuchta

Completed by Katie Lawson, PhD

Lecture in PSYS 324 (Psychology of Women) on Economic & Political Life
Date: March 31, 2016
I evaluated Ms. Kuchtas forty-five minute lecture in Psychology of Women on March
31, 2016. Ms. Kuchta is a graduate student in the Department of Psychological Science
who serves as the teaching assistant for my Psychology of Women course. Because I
knew she had a desire to gain teaching experience, I offered her the opportunity to teach
one class which she took advantage of, despite her busy schedule. Ms. Kuchta lectured
on the economic and political life of women, which included issues of power, status, and
achievement. More specifically, Ms. Kuchta discussed research attempting to understand
the low rates of women in high positions of power, including difficulty forming informal
networks at work and repercussions women face when they are successful in positions of
power. Below is an evaluation of the clarity of the presentation, skills in communicating
with students, and overall strengths and weaknesses.
1. Clarity of presentation and explanations
Ms. Kuchta used PowerPoint slides during her lecture. Her slides were clear and concise
enough information was given to guide the presentation, but they were not
overwhelming. Ms. Kuchta has a nice presentation style. She is very comfortable
speaking in front of the class, delivered the lecture at an appropriate pace, had nice
transitions between slides and topics, and is very knowledgeable about the material.
2. Instructor's skills in communicating with students
Ms. Kuchta has a very approachable demeanor. It was clear the students felt comfortable
enough to ask questions. In addition, when she answered, she confirmed with students
that her answer was clear and addressed their initial question/s. She also nicely
incorporated examples relevant to the college-aged population to help illustrate concepts.
For example, she incorporated data from her undergraduate research project to help
illustrate the concept of how gender roles can influence perceptions of female leaders.
This appeared to be very relatable to college-aged students, as students appeared very
interested in this material.
Overall Strengths:
One of the biggest strengths of Ms. Kuchtas presentation was that she used data from a
previous research project to illustrate a concept and bring the research to life. In addition,
her presentation was clearly organized, she very nicely transitioned from one concept to
the next (making the lecture feel like a cohesive story), and she lectured at a nice pace.
Weaknesses and/or Suggestions:
In the future, Ms. Kuchtas lectures could be even further strengthened by incorporating
more non-lecture components. Using activities such as the think-pair-share technique,
discussion questions, or short activities may help encourage participation from the quieter
students and give the students exposure to the material using different approaches.